Originally located in Buffalo, New York, Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company relocated to Muncie, Indiana in 1888 as a result of the natural gas boom of the 1880s.

Ball rapidly increased their glass production after the move, and was soon churning out tremendous numbers of glass fruit jars of all types at their Macedonia Avenue factory located in the south end of Muncie. A number of separate buildings covered the grounds of the facility at the height of their glass production. (Incidentally, the main Ball Bros. plant, and business offices were located near the Hemingray Glass Company plant, prolific maker of glass electrical insulators. Hemingray’s factory was located virtually across the street, also on Macedonia Avenue.).

Ball was the best-known fruit jar (canning jar) manufacturer in the world, but also made a huge variety of other glass containers for the packaging industry during it’s long history. (See this page on Ball Perfect Mason jars).

Many jars that have been made by Ball over the years might be termed “generic” jars, that is, all types of plain, unlettered glass jars purchased by food and other companies to contain their products to be sold in retail stores. Many of these generic “packer jars” carried the cursive “Ball” logo on the bottom.

The majority of marked containers carry the name “Ball” embossed in cursive script, although some fruit jars made during certain periods of time also had the name in simple, block letters.

Glass-making ended at the Muncie plant in 1962, but production continued at other Ball factories. In 1987 as a result of their merger with Indianhead Container Corporation, Ball-InCon Glass Packaging Corporation was formed and the logo “BALL” in script was discontinued on their packer ware. Ball-InCon (a stylized “B I” logo was used 1987-1994) became Ball Glass Container Corporation in 1994, and the cursive script “B” mark was then used for about a year (see illustrations of these two marks on page one of the Bottle Marks pages).

In 1995, Ball-Foster Container Corporation was formed, with Ball owning 42% and Saint-Gobain owning 58% of assets (which included Saint-Gobain’s acquisition of Foster-Forbes Glass Company at that time) in the merger. The mark “BF” was then used, 1995-2000.

Ball Brothers Plaque – Muncie, Indiana (Picture taken Sept 4, 2011)

Ball Bros. plaque, side 2, Muncie, Indiana (9-4-2011)

In 1996 Ball Corporation sold its interest in it’s remaining glass plants to Saint-Gobain and left the glass business altogether to pursue other industries. Most of the former Ball Bros glass plants later became part of Saint-Gobain Container Corporation (subsidiary of Saint-Gobain), later called Verallia . Their current products (as of 2014) may be found with the “SG” mark, in use since 2000.

UPDATE: Verallia North America (VNA) has been acquired by Ardagh Group(based in Luxembourg) as of April 11, 2014, and all of these glass manufacturing facilities are now under that banner.

Ball Corporation headquarters were moved from Muncie to Broomfield, Colorado in 1998. Ball Corporation is still in existence (2015) but has greatly expanded into involvement in the production of various non-glass packaging products (metal food, beverage, aerosal cans), and a wide range of products connected with the high-tech aerospace industry. Their website is: www.ball.com .

NOTE: New glass fruit jars embossed with the “Ball” cursive logo that are being sold currently (2013-2015) are made by Ardagh Group (at the former Anchor Glass Container Corporation plant located in Winchester, IN) for the Jarden Corporation– their Home products division, Daleville, Indiana, (formerly known as the Alltrista Corporation, name changed in 2002). Jarden Home Brands now owns the rights to the “Ball” , “Kerr” and “Bernadin” brand names. (Bernadin jars are sold in Canada).

The corporate history of Ball is complicated and, of necessity, my overview is highly simplistic. A search of the web should produce more detailed information for the researcher on this glass company.

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30 Responses to Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company

Wish to know: I water bath canned pickles, garlic and peppers without vinegar or salt. Been stored in fridge for 30+ days. They look great, jars are sealed but no flavor. Can these be re canned with vinegar and still be safe?

Does anyone know where I can buy wholesale the 8oz quilted Ball jar …..cheapest I can find per case of 12 is $7.92 per case …..we are producing larger amounts of Jams and Jellies and selling at local markets and events………running around to walmarts and target stores is getting old …….our business is growing and need better pricing

Holly, I have no connection with the company who now markets glass jars marked “BALL”. However, I might suggest you try contacting the actual distributor of these containers. Have you tried contacting Jarden Home Brands, perhaps by checking for contact info printed on the jar packaging? Or try contacting someone for information at https://www.freshpreserving.com/ or the actual website run by Jarden.
Hope this helps,
David

David,
I’ll add some additional information since I now work at the Winchester facility. We make 4oz, 8oz, 16oz, 24 oz, 32oz, and 66oz sizes with the Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin named “Ball” jars here in Winchester. This includes the plain name-only design, the ‘quilted’ diamond patterns, the 8oz ‘Jelly Pot’ with fruit designs, all in flint glass. We also make the 16oz handled Ball jar mugs. This is in addition to the several designs manufactured in Dunkirk and Henderson. Thanks for all the great info!

Hi Karen,
Ball Bros Glass Company made large numbers of other containers marked only with their logo on the base – often accompanied by jar style numbers, mold numbers and sometimes other information. Most of those jars and bottles would be classed as “packer ware”, meaning that they were sold empty to various companies (food, beverage, liquor, etc) who then filled them with their own particular products and sold them in retail venues. (As opposed to canning jars/fruit jars that were usually sold empty to the buying public for home canning use).
Hope this helps!
David

Your information about where the Ball jars are manufactured is partially correct. Approximately 4 sizes/variations are produced in the Winchester, Indiana facility, and six sizes/variations are produced at the Dunkirk, Indiana facility. These include the 8oz. round fruit and 8oz. Diamond pattern canning jars, the 250 mL “squat” square canning jar, the 500mL “squat” square canning jar, and two 500ml canning jars (one round and one rounded square). The Dunkirk facility currently only manufactures these containers in flint (clear) glass, and the blue and other colors are made at other facilities.

Hello,
My wife and I recently bought a coffee grinding system with Ball jars used as part of the set. They do not say made in USA like I thought they would. How would I find out which plant makes them? And why do they not proudly display Made in USA on their products? Thank you!

Many,many Ball jars are not marked “MADE IN USA”. The company / brand name was so well-known, this may have been deemed unnecessary. Also, any markings on glass involves addition mold-work (tooling, engraving on the inside of the mold, which is labor intensive and costs money!) In general, from what I understand, the “MADE IN USA” marking was not required on glass items until after 1919, and then only when the item was slated for export outside the US. Exactly what type of jar are you referring to? Ball made hundreds of slightly different types over a period of many years. Do you believe these jars came with the set originally, or are “all-purpose” type jars used as replacements?
David

Hi, I have just recently started collecting Ball mason jars. I have 3 jars that I’ve been trying to find some information on but have not had any luck. And I was hoping someone on here could help me. Jar #1 is a clear glass Ball mason jar that is a liquid drink dispenser. The top is glass that is secured to the jar with the wire closure. A rubber gasket sits between the cover & the jar. The front of the jar says “Ball”, and then underneath that it says IDEAL. On the back of the jar it has an eagle in a circle with a star above it’s head.
Jar #2 is also a clear jar. The cover consists of the typical metal screw on ring, but instead of the typical metal cover, it’s clear glass.
Jar #3 is blue in color. It says Ball and underneath that it says “Perfect Mason”. But the perfect mason is not perfectly aligned under the word Ball. It’s off to the left side. Of the many Ball jars I’ve seen ALL of them that say Perfect Mason the words are perfectly aligned under Ball.
My questions about these jars are: Are they rare? (Especially jar #3) How can I tell when they were made? Anything you can tell me about these jars would be a big help. Please send your response to my e-mail, as I may not be able to get back to this page to see your response.
Thank You for your time
Shally

Shally, have you already checked out my webpage (on this site) on the Ball Perfect Mason jars, and especially the links listed at the bottom of that page, pointing to other sites with more specialized info on Ball jars? There are hundreds of slightly different variants, just of the Ball Perfect Mason. (The “Ideal” was another type of jar made by Ball in very large numbers, with several varieties made over a period of years. The IDEAL was a so-called “Lightning-type closure” jar with a metal wire closure and a glass lid).

The Ball Perfect Mason with the word “MASON” lettering offset more to the left is somewhat less common than the examples with the lettering centered underneath, but they are still relatively easy to find, and only have a slightly higher “market value”. Two of these variants are classed as Redbook jars #343 and #350-1. Your best bet would be to obtain a copy of the latest ‘Redbook’ of fruit jar values. This book can be obtained online by searching bookseller sites, and a copy (albeit an older version in many cases) might be borrowed at well-stocked, “better” local libraries.

You can also try searching through online auction sites for Ball jars, just for informational purposes, comparing different types and embossing variations. Type in relevant keywords in the search box on ebay, and look for similar jars. (Although in many cases, the minimum bid, ‘buy it now’ price, or asking price is WILDLY out of line, especially since many sellers have no ideas on the true market value of older jars, and grossly overestimate their value and rarity). Nevertheless, ebay browsing can be a good way to find out what types of older fruit jars are out there to be found, and the variations in lettering, size, color, etc.
Hope this helps. If any readers can supply additional info, please do.
Best regards, David

Hi Isabela,
I am going to presume your request is not meant as “spam”. This is not a “for sale” site. I do not actually sell glass containers. This site is for background informational purposes only. You might try contacting a local-area or regional bottle supplier by searching the thomasnet.com site here: http://www.thomasnet.com/products/glass-bottles-7041205-1.html. However, some bottle suppliers and manufacturers require a minimum quantity (which is some cases may be rather high) in order to accept orders.
Best regards, David

Hello Veronica,
Most of the more frequently-seen types of aqua or “Ball Blue” colored Ball Perfect Mason jars carry a number from 0 to 15 on the base. These numbers identified the steel mold (or individual mold component/cavity on an automatic bottle machine assembly) from which the jar was made. (The mold numbers have no relation to any particular year or year code). Many of these BPM jars date from the 1920s and 1930s. Please check out my article on this site with more information relating to the Ball Perfect Mason.
Hope this helps a bit,
David

Dear Janet, for more background info on why most older canning jars (and bottles and insulators, for that matter) were made in blue or aqua-colored glass, check out my pages on “What is Glass”, “Ball Perfect Mason” and “Glass Insulator Manufacturers”. Basically, “natural” glass (without adding any ingredients to “decolorize” the mixture) will come out in some shade of blue, green, or aqua because of the iron content of the sand. Nearly all sand used in glass manufacture has some amount of trace iron in it. Years ago (especially before the 1920s or so) it was common for alot of the “cheaper” types of glassware, such as bottles, insulators and fruit jars, to be made in the natural color of glass, i.e. without bothering to change or eliminate the blueish or greenish color. As time went on glass factories gradually changed over, so by the late 1930s and 1940s most glass of this type was being made in clear, as customers preferred to see the “true” color of products which could best be seen through glass that was as colorless as possible. Hope this helps and thanks for writing,
David

Yes, Ball produced a VERY wide variety of containers, including liquor bottles. Many of their whiskey bottles were produced at their Hillsboro, Illinois plant location, and I assume other plants as well.
David

Hi Brian,
I am not familiar with the plant codes and date codes Ball used on their containers, including soda bottles. To be honest I haven’t searched in-depth for this info, which may or may not already be available somewhere on the web………perhaps someone out there has this information? I am posting your query in hopes that someone can help out in this regard. Thanks alot for writing!
~David

Hi, David. I found your website after searching Ball Bros. I worked at Hillsboro Glass Company in Schram City, IL until 1997 when the plant closed. At that time the plant was owned by a middle-eastern company that had purchased it a year earlier from Hiram Walker. We made whiskey and other liquor bottles. Previous to that it was Ball Bros Glass (until H-W purchased it in the 60’s), Schram Glass, and others.

Comments/Reader's posts (All comments must await moderation and will not be posted immediately). Because of mail volume received, and time and energy restraints, many questions cannot be answered individually, especially if the subject is already addressed elsewhere on this site. This site is NOT intended as an appraisal service, but as a resource for background info on glass companies and their marks, so I usually delete "What is this bottle worth?" types of queries. Thank you very much for your patience & understanding! Cancel reply

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